Team Fabricio Werdum: “There’s No Upside to a Rematch with Fedor Emelianenko, UNLESS…”

After initially asking for an immediate rematch to legitimize his “fluke” victory over Fedor Emelianenko, it appears the Brazilian is now backpedaling from those demands as he prepares to attack the negotiating table.

“That was with the emotions of the fight running high,” Werdum’s manager, Richard Wilner, told MMAFighting.com. “Once emotions subside and rationale thought prevails, Fabricio understands there’s no upside to a rematch with Fedor unless M-1 puts a significant amount of money on the table.

“We have no rematch clause in our contract with Strikeforce.”

After parting ways the UFC following his TKO loss to Junior dos Santos in October 2008, Werdum now finds himself in a precarious position. Now that he’s hung submission victories over Fedor and Strikeforce champion Alistair Overeem, the jiu jitsu specialist carries quite a bit of bargaining power in regards to his next date.

“While we’re open to the possibility of fighting Fedor again, whatever opportunity that Strikeforce puts in front of us, as long as it makes sense, we’ll consider it,” Wilner stated.

What Werdum’s camp appears to be telling M-1 Global is, ‘if you want the opportunity to avenge your meal ticket’s only loss in the last decade, you’re going to have to do it on our terms.’

“[Overeem] guarantees he’ll win, just like the last time Fabricio kicked his ass,” Wilner said while laughing about his client’s kimura submission of the Dutchman back in May 2006.

Strikeforce and M-1 Global have been actively meeting to discuss Emelianenko’s future, as both sides are aiming for an October/November return. Although Werdum and Overeem weren’t invited to the V.I.P. summit, their futures will be directly impacted by what takes place during those talks.